Fallen Angel
by Madisonne
Summary: A mission causes Duo to look at his life in an entirely different way... The PG-13 rating is for language and extreme sad/sap moments. Yaoi.


Fallen Angel

By: Madisonne

Warnings: Yaoi, angst, sap

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does NOT belong to me... (Damn, damn, damn...) No infringement on the rights of the owners of said anime intended. Don't sue me, suing isn't nice. As for the fic, don't steal it! Criticism accepted (feed me feed-back at Fire_Elf_Rei@hotmail.com!!!), flames laughed at.

Notes: This fic is a little depressing at first, but does get happier as it goes along! I wrote it as a response to a movie I saw, the name of which I won't reveal because it would ruin the "surprise". The time line is completely screwy as none of this happened in the story line, but it's not too disturbing... I think... 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Duo felt the last square of gauze gently lifted off the suturing underneath his eyes.

"Well, the sutures look good. I think you're ready to rejoin your friends, we've made the appropriate arrangements, and nothing's been changed."

Duo nodded. "How much did you tell them?"

"Only that you're okay."

"Thank you."

"We figured you'd appreciate having it that way. C'mon, hop down from there."

He grabbed the out-stretched arm and used it as leverage to slide off the examining table. He headed towards the door.

"Duo, you're going to have to tell them sometime..."

He sighed and bowed his head. "I know... Oh, by the way, would you make sure I get back at a time when I can sort of go through things, you know? "

"Of course, I'll see to that immediately."

He continued out of the door, down the hall and into his own makeshift bedroom. Grimacing slightly as his muscles protested at the motion, he laid down on the bed, and slumber quickly captured him.

* * * * * 

The mission was going fairly well, the five pilots had managed to infiltrate a local corporation whom they believed to have been illegally smuggling weapons to their enemies. They had managed to dismantle the entire scheme from inside, where it wouldn't be noticed for days to come, and they were making their way to the front door of the building.

Duo was the first person to notice that something was wrong. They didn't meet up with anyone in the hallways, and there seemed to be an air of tension coating everything. He whirled around, while shouting a warning, just in time to see a knife of some sort, aimed at any one of his companion's necks. The last thing he saw was the knife slashing, slashing towards him. 

He stumbled as the cold metal struck his face, blood spurting from the wound inflicted. 

He saw little of the ensued battle, and what he did see was tinged and through stinging eyes, his vision blurry and obscured. 

Finally, as darkness descended, the sounds of fighting grew weaker and weaker, until Duo heard someone yelling, he imagined them shouting his name, and his shoulders being shaken over and over again. 

* * * * * 

Duo sat up, gasping for breath.

"Duo, Duo! Wake... Oh thank goodness, you're awake! I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, but I've just been informed that they're all out on missions, and you have enough time to get there before they do and to check things out."

Duo sighed.

"Of course, you're always welcome to stay here, if you'd like..."

"No, no... I'll go... Just, let me get my stuff together."

"Okay. Do you need a hand?"

"No, I'll be okay, just... Go on ahead with out me..."

"Okay. I'll be in my office."

Duo nodded and stood up, patiently waiting for the room to stop spinning.

* * * * * 

Quatre jangled the key in the lock, teasing the old safety-device gently. He smiled as the door clicked, and he let himself, and the others waiting behind him, in. 

He went from room to room, turning on lights. He reached the living room, and clicked on the lights.

"Hello Quatre." A voice called from the corner of the room.

Quatre jumped, and looked behind him, fearing an assailant. He grinned as he saw it was his old friend. "Hey everyone, Duo's home!"

From behind him, the rest of the pilots crowded into the living room.

Always the soldier, the first words out of Heero's mouth were, "Can you pilot?"

Duo snickered. "Same priorities, this one. And yes, I can."

Heero just walked out of the room. "Good."

Duo rolled his eyes. "So, what's been happening?"

Quatre sat down in a chair diagonal from Duo's. Trowa took this time to leave, going upstairs.

"Well, not much. After... Well, you got hurt, we didn't have much to do, we only got about two new missions apiece, and that counts today."

Duo laughed. "Sounds like I missed a whole lot..."

"Other than us all trying not to kill each other, yeah, basically."

"I take it you all got bored?"

Quatre laughed. "You could say that again. But, no really. How are you feeling? Does it hurt?"

Duo grinned deviously. "I'm okay. It used to hurt, but thanks to your sister's drugs, I'm feeling MUCH better!"

Quatre laughed again. "We were very afraid. I know the others didn't really show it, well, of course I knew, I was there! But, really, they were. We were so relieved to hear that everything was okay!"

Duo smiled. "So was I."

"But, hey, why don't you go give me a hand before supper."

"Uh, I was actually... Going to go lie down."

Quatre nodded. "Okay, you go ahead and do that, I can manage!"

Duo stood up and walked out of the doorway and up the stairs.

Neither one had noticed Wufei standing, leaning against the doorjamb of the door Duo had just exited. 

* * * * * 

Duo held his hand up to the light beside his bed, reveling in the fascinating feel of its warmth, then the chill as he jerked it away and then the reassuring warmth as he held it back up to the light.

His observation was disrupted by Quatre announcing dinner by yelling up the stairs. 

He quickly vaulted off the bed and ran down the stairs to join the others.

* * * * * 

Clicking on all of the switches, Duo prepared for his next mission. Shrugging his shoulders to relieve a pain in his back, he grasped the controls and prepared for a long fight.

* * * * * 

Duo smiled, surrounded by ten lights. He reveled in the feeling as he stretched his fingers, one lamp by one lamp, over the orbs of light, which all covered his hands in different variations of heat and warmth.

* * * * * 

Duo reveled in the feeling of the warm water running over him. He reached out and changed the temperature of the shower to cool, then warm again, then to hot, then freezing, then cool...

* * * * * 

Wufei could tell someone was watching him. He could feel their eyes staring at him. 

Shaking off his uneasiness, he continued his practicing, ignoring the braided pilot he knew was there. Watching him. Always watching him.

* * * * * 

Quatre could tell there was something different about Duo. The way he walked, more defensively. The way he was drawn to lights and movements. And his eyes... Something about his eyes... Like he had experienced something that Quatre couldn't quite explain. He couldn't quite pin-point what it was, but what ever it turned out to be, it was eating at him.

* * * * * 

Duo had managed to find twenty different lights and had plugged them all in. He spent the better part of two hours feeling the warmth within those glowing orbs. 

He was so entranced by the many different temperatures that he didn't even notice when the door to his bedroom was opened, and he was being observed by a silent Wufei, who watched him, frowning ever so slightly.

* * * * * 

The weeks passed, and the weeks turned into a month. Nothing of momentous value or importance happened, they all lived just day to day.

* * * * * 

Duo was very tired, and a little woozy. Quatre's sister had made a visit the afternoon before to take out the sutures under Duo's eyes. Her work had been quick, but pretty painful and Duo had fallen asleep shortly afterwards.

But now the morning sun was beating down on him in slats, the shades causing stripes of heat to fall across Duo. 

He grimaced as he sat up and took out new clothes. He quickly put them on, and skipped out into the hall. 

He went downstairs and into the kitchen, where he opened the refrigerator. He reached down for the milk carton, but his fingers met with just chilled air. He frowned and made a mental note to tell Quatre to buy some more. 

"Looking for this?" Quatre's voice came from behind him.

Duo jumped visibly and whirled around. He was not aware that someone else was in the kitchen with him.

"Duo, we need to talk." Wufei told him. "Sit down."

Duo gingerly reached for a chair, and, out of habit, reached down to see if it was empty. It was, however, filled with newspapers. Duo sighed and lifted them off of the chair and placed them carefully on the table. He sat down and clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "So, what is it?"

Quatre sighed. "Duo, we know what happened."

Duo started to panic, shifting his weight slightly. "Wha-What do you mean?"

"You're not fooling us." Wufei added.

Duo shook his head. "I don't understand."

Quatre coughed. "We know."

"Know what?" Duo asked.

"Gods..." Quatre sighed. "Fine, we give up. We know something's wrong Duo, we just don't know what."

"What do you mean? Did something happen?"

"Don't act like a fool, Duo. We all know something happened to you that you're not telling us. We know."

Duo sighed and shook his head, giving up. "How did you know?"

"Well, for one thing, you don't act the same way. You used to throw yourself into everything. Now, you're more timid, reserved." Quatre told him.

"And we noticed you're drawn to more abstract things, like light and movement." Wufei.

"Come on, Duo. We're you're best friends. Let us know what's going on."

Duo sighed. "You know when we had that mission that didn't go so well, and I ended up going to your sister to get sewn up?"

Quatre snorted. "As if we could forget."

"Well, I lied when I said that everything was okay. You guys, I'm blind."

"Blind?!!" Wufei hissed.

Duo nodded sheepishly. 

"B-but... You piloted?!!" Quatre stuttered.

"Once the mechanics at your house knew I was blind, they made arrangements for a new system to be planted into the pit. It's rather like EchoLocation."

"Gods..." Wufei sighed. "To think what we've been acting like..."

Duo's head shot up. "Stop that right now! That's exactly the reason I didn't want you all to know! I'm not a damn invalid and I refuse to be treated like one!!!"

"But..." Quatre protested.

"Damn it, listen to me! Nothing is going to change, I refuse to let you all make this take over my life! I've learned to adapt, so don't go treating me like a glass figure that will break with too much handling!"

"I'm sorry." Quatre sighed.

"And one more thing, you can't tell the others about this. Do you promise?"

Wufei sighed. "We can say that we won't tell them, but they already know."

Duo looked puzzled. "But how?"

He heard movement from the direction of the door. "Shit, were you all just hanging out there, listening to me pour out my secrets?!!"

Trowa answered. "You should have told us."

"And what? Be treated like an invalid?!! No thank you." Duo was getting angry.

"Now, Duo, be reasonable..." Quatre pleaded.

"Reasonable?!! Reasonable?!! I'm trying to tell you all not to cluck over me like a bunch of overly mothering hens!!!"

"No, we're just commenting that if we had known, we probably would have warned you that you set that stack of newspapers down on a plate of banana slices..." Wufei commented.

Duo tried awfully hard not to smile, but ended up laughing hysterically. "Sorry..." 

"And, I wasn't going to say anything, but you might want to know that you're wearing two different coloured socks." Heero observed.

Duo snickered. "Really?"

"No, I'm lying just to amuse myself."

Duo stood up and walked over to mock-punch Heero in the face. He then, very calmly, sat back down again.

"How did you, or do you rather, do that?" Quatre asked.

Duo grinned. "It's the one good thing I get out of all of this. All my other senses are increased by a million times. I suppose out of necessity."

"Just don't lie to us again." Heero said before stalking off upstairs.

Duo made a face in Heero's general direction.

Quatre snickered. "Well, one thing's for sure, you haven't lost your sense of humour..."

Duo just grinned. "It's really not that different you guys. I mean, I have to be careful, but it hasn't changed me that much."

* * * * * 

Duo followed Quatre's sister into the pilot's current safe house.

"Do you want me to stick around and help, or...?"

Duo shook his head. "I've got to do this alone."

"Okay. Just remember, take it slow. It's gonna be hard getting used to this."

"Yeah, I know."

Duo heard the sound of the door clicking shut behind him. He sighed, straightened his shoulders, and began to walk, counting out the steps from the front door to the kitchen, to the living room, to the stairs. 

He soon grew frustrated at himself, when he'd forget the number of steps or the exact location of something, but he carried on. 

"One, two, three, four..." Duo tripped over a chair in the solarium. He fell to the floor in a controlled roll, as had been hammered into him through his training. He leaned against the offending chair and began to cry. 

Christ... I can't even walk around the damn house without tripping over something... Shit, when they come back, they're going to see what I didn't want them to see. A weak, useless person who can't even get around without help. What's the use? I'm never going to be independent. What the hell am I saying?!! I can't let this control me, I have to go on. I refuse to let this ruin my life. By the time they get back this afternoon, I have to be able to get around. So they never find out. They must not find out!!! Biting his lip, he used the chair to help himself up. 

"Okay. Five, six, seven, eight..."

* * * * * 

Duo felt the fresh suturing under his eyes with some trepidation. There was no doubt Quatre's sister had done the best she could. 

He sighed and stood up. At least I can still see. That's the blessing. He walked over to the closet and picked out fresh clothes. He made his way into the bathroom, intending to take a shower. However, when he got into the bathroom, his vision started to go blurry. Wiping his eyes, he continued on, setting down the change of clothes he had picked out. 

He looked into the mirror, but couldn't make out his own figure. Squinting, he realized that the vision in front of him had gone dark. He swept his arm out, hearing objects that were on the counter crash and break on the floor. He whimpered as he reached out for something, anything to help him. 

His knees collapsed underneath him, he felt the shards of the items he had broken inadvertently pressing into his legs, and all he could do was sit there and try to stop the 

shaking that had seized him.

* * * * * 

Quatre's sister was in her study, reading up on facial wounds, when she heard numerous crashes coming from the bathroom down the hall. She shot out of her seat, realizing whose bathroom that was. Running down the hallway and through the empty bedroom, she thought of all the possible situations that she could happen upon. 

She pounded on the bathroom door. "Duo?!! Let me in!!!"

The door remained locked.

She cursed, then ran back to the other side of the room. She ran at the door, throwing herself on it, and sighing in relief when the lock broke and she stumbled into the bathroom.

She nearly sobbed when she saw her charge sitting on the floor, remains of various bathroom items scattered, broken around him. "Duo? Are you okay?"

She received no answer, the boy kept on rocking himself back and forth, one hand clutching the shoulder of his shirt. 

"Hey, let's get you out of here, huh?" She said, more for benefit of herself than that of her ward, whom she knew could not hear her. She bent down and threw the arm of the unresponding pilot over her shoulder. She managed to half drag, half carry the boy into the nearest examining room. 

Putting on plastic examining gloves, she clicked on the various machines around her. Stepping up to the boy on the examining table. "Okay. Let's see what's wrong here..."

* * * * * 

Quatre's sister was rubbing her eyes, seated in a chair beside her patient, when he opened his eyes. 

"Christ! What the hell?"

She stood up and put her hand on the pilot's shoulder. "Hey. It's me. You're safe."

"Why the hell can't I see?!!"

She sighed. "You need to calm down, then I'll tell you what's going on."

Duo sighed. "Fine."

"Duo, when you were cut, it caused the area behind your eyes to hemorrhage. This, slowly, detached the retinas in both eyes."

"What does that mean?!!"

She sighed again. "Duo, when the retinas are detached, it's a permanent situation. When they detach, gods... How to say this... Duo, you're blind."

"What?!! Like hell I am!!!"

"I realize this is a shock to you, and I'm fully aware that you may not believe me, but it's true."

Duo whimpered. "Wh-why...?"

She shook her head. "There's nothing more I can tell you... All we can do now is to teach you to cope..."

"No, I don't have to cope! I'll recover. I'll be fine!"

"Duo... It's permanent."

"No! It's not! I'm not blind!"

"Duo, you have to face this..."

He sat up quickly. "Do you not understand?!! It's not permanent! I'm not blind!"

She sighed and pushed him back down. "No Duo, you're not listening. And I realize that this is a lot to digest, but you are blind and you're never going to get better."

"No, I'm not blind, I'm not blind..." He protested weakly.

She simply nodded. "I know it's hard to believe. I'm sorry. I did everything I could..."

* * * * * 

Duo sat in his room on his bed, thinking. Well, at least I've told them. Now I don't have this tremendous weight on my shoulders anymore... They took it quite well, considering...

He half-shrieked as he was tackled from the side and pushed up against the wall nearest his bed. "W-who...?"

"How could you lie to us?" His assailant hissed.

"Heero, I-I'm sorry, I was... Afraid..."

"Didn't you even try to think of the consequences?!!"

Duo felt his head being slammed against the wall. "I-I'm..."

"What the hell would have happened if you endangered one or all of us? Simply because you were afraid!!!" Heero punched Duo twice, once in the stomach, once under the jaw.

Duo lost his balance as Heero punched him and fell to the floor, only to be yanked back up again.

"Your damn selfishness could have cost us our lives!!!" He slapped him repeatedly across the face.

"S-stop, I didn't m-mean to..."

"Just shut the hell up, you worthless..."

"That's enough, Heero." Wufei's voice called from the doorway.

Heero snarled, but let his grip on Duo slacken, pushing him, at the last moment, backwards.

Duo stumbled back and fell, hitting the back of his head on the bedside table. He felt the rough fabric of the rug underneath his cheek, then the world faded away from him.

  
* * * * * 

Duo woke up slowly, blinking uselessly several times. He stretched out his hand, encountering wood on his right hand side, puzzled, as his bed was not against the wall, he stretched his hand out the other way and met with warm, human flesh. He recoiled back, as if bitten.

"So, I see you're awake." The person beside him shifted positions.

"Where am I?"

He could hear the person standing up, accompanied by the squeak of a chair. "I had almost rather feared, 'Who am I?'... We changed safe houses while you were out."

Duo frowned. "How long...?"

"About two days." His companion laughed. "We were starting to fear the worst..."

Duo sighed. "Wufei, stop pretending that everything's okay. It's not. I can sense it..."

Wufei exhaled heavily. "You're right, it's not... Heero... He beat... He beat you up, and probably would have killed you if..."

"If you hadn't been there." Duo finished the sentence for him.

Wufei made a startled noise. "I hadn't thought you'd remember all that. That's good."

Duo sighed. "Well, I might as well get up." He sat up gingerly on his bed, still wary of his injuries. 

Wufei hesitated, not sure what to do. "W-what...?"

Duo waved him over. "Here, let me use your arm as a guide, and just... Uh, lead me around to let me familiarize myself with the house..."

Wufei complied, reaching down to help his friend stand up. "Okay. We're approaching the door to your room, going through it... Now we're going down the hall, towards the stairs. Okay, stairs start... Here... Step down. Step down. Step down."

* * * * *

Wufei sat with his back to the window through which moonbeams pierced the darkness of the room. He sat in a chair next to Duo's bed, watching the boy sleep peacefully.

Although his exterior was calm, his interior was a whole different matter... Poor guy, I can't imagine how he learned all that the first time, all alone in that house... He's suffered so much... Even in his sleep, he bears a small wrinkle in his forehead. What I'd give to just let him rest untroubled... 

Almost as if in a dream, Wufei reached down to smooth his friend's brow, yanking his hand back when he fully realized what he was doing. 

After an internal battle, Wufei slid over onto the bed, sitting on the edge, and stroked his fellow pilot's long hair.

* * * * * 

Wufei cupped Duo's hand in his. "Okay, yellows are here..." He moved Duo's hand to where in the closet he'd put the clothes of that colour. "Blues, here... Greens, here... Blacks, here... Whites, here... And reds, here..." 

Duo nodded, committing the pattern to memory. 

Wufei then led Duo to the bathroom, his hand in his all the while. Wufei molded Duo's hand around the drawer's handle, pulling his friend's arm back. "Okay, here is the toothpaste and your toothbrush... And a hairbrush, and hair elastics." He helped his friend close the drawer again. "Here is the first aid kit." He instructed. 

Duo sighed and nodded again.

* * * * *   


Duo leaned on Wufei, depending on him for his support as he made his way down the still unfamiliar stairs. He counted on his friend to lead him into the kitchen and to seat him at the table. 

"What would you like to eat?" Wufei asked.

"Uh, do we have anymore Basic 4?" Duo asked.

"Yeah. Just a second." Wufei quickly prepared bowls of cereal and brought them over to the table, giving one to Duo and handing him a spoon at the same time. 

Duo ate hungrily, stuffing himself with the crunchy breakfast food. After five minutes, he frowned and turned to Wufei. "You're not eating..."

Wufei jumped, startled out of his reverie. "How did you know?" He asked sheepishly.

Duo smiled. "I can tell, you weren't making eating noises."

Wufei laughed. "Oh, I see. And exactly what are my eating noises?"

"A sort of gurgled chomp and... Yeah..." He cut off, realizing Wufei wasn't serious. He jumped as someone tapped his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry Duo!" Quatre apologized.

"Christ! How many times do I have to tell you to warn me before you so much as touch me?" Duo asked, semi-serious.

Quatre shrugged, then realizing his message hadn't been relayed, "I dunno..."

Duo sighed, exasperated. "Come on, sit down... Have a bowl of cereal with us..."

* * * * * 

Wufei heard the sound of a hard object hit the other side of his bedroom wall. Confused, he went to see what had happened. 

He walked into Duo's room to see him sobbing, his head in his hands, and a brush lying by the wall across from him, obviously the source of the sound whose origin Wufei was investigating. 

Silently, he went and picked up Duo's hairbrush, then knelt in front of where Duo was sitting on the bed. Hesitating a moment, he put his arms around his friend, trying to be comforting. 

Duo stiffened, then, realizing who it was, dissolved back into tears, hanging on to Wufei as if to a lifeline. 

Wufei ran his fingers through Duo's tangled hair. "Shhh... It's okay..."  
Finally, when Duo stopped sobbing, Wufei felt able to release his embrace around his fellow pilot. He then plopped on the bed behind Duo and began to brush his hair for him, deciding that that was what the tantrum had been brought on by. He reveled in the feel of the silken locks slipping through his fingers, so soft and shiny.

Duo relaxed even more under the pampering treatment. When Wufei was done, he stood up. "Thanks."

Wufei smiled and headed out the door. "No problem. I'm glad to help. Anytime, Duo. And with anything..." 

* * * * * 

Duo had woken up with a slight cold, much like his other pilots. He seemed to also have gotten a mild case of body ache sometime during the night. This was part of the reason why he woke up at three in the morning, and part of the reason why he couldn't fall back asleep. 

He lay in bed for a long time before heading over to Wufei's room, feeling that he, at least, would be willing to talk to him. He knocked lightly, entering at a muffled, half-awake acknowledgement of his request to enter. 

Wufei propped himself up on one elbow, wondering who would visit him at such an hour. His question was answered as Duo walked through the door. 

"I... I couldn't sleep." Duo sat down in the chair beside Wufei's bed.

Wufei rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, glancing at the clock in the meantime, surprised to see that it was merely three in the morning. "Hey, that's okay. I said I'd be here for you anytime!" He smiled, even though knowing Duo couldn't see him.

Duo sighed. "I suppose you'd prefer to sleep..."

Wufei scoffed in protest. "Some friend I'd be if I chose sleeping over talking to a friend who can't fall back asleep!"

Duo laughed. "That's me, the worlds' greatest insomniac!"

Wufei shook his head in mock cynicism. He looked back over at his friend, clad in boxers and a thin white cotton tee-shirt. His hair was pulled back into a long, messy braid, his wisps of bangs falling over his eyes. All in the same moment, he realized that his friend was shaking with chill. He frowned. "Are you okay?"

Duo nodded, trying to force his shivers to die down. 

Wufei scowled, "No, you're not. Come on over here. I think I might be able to salvage a few inches of covers for a friend." He moved over.

Duo hesitated, then reached towards the bed, unsure of his footing. 

Wufei sensed this and grabbed Duo's hand, helping his ease his way onto the bed and under the covers. He smiled at Duo and curled up into a ball, watching his friend, "You warming up now?"

Duo nodded hesitantly. Then, just as hesitantly, he reached out a slender hand towards Wufei. "Do you mind...?"

Wufei's breath caught for a moment. "Go ahead..." He said breathlessly.

Duo tentatively reached out his hand, his forehead wrinkling in concentration, as he brushed his fingers across Wufei's face, concentrating on the forehead and eyes. He then worked his way lower, his fingers exploring his cheekbones and the finally coming to rest just above his lips. As if drawing strength or courage to go on, Duo inhaled, then brushed his fingers across his friend's lips. He pushed himself up on one elbow, beside Wufei.

Wufei, on the other hand, lay there in shocked, motionless, anticipatory silence. 

Duo retraced the path his fingers had just made, ending back at the same feature. He suddenly withdrew his hand, confusing Wufei slightly, but bent down over Wufei, hesitating for any protestations, and receiving none, pressed his lips against his friend's, in a soft, feathery kiss which lasted only seconds before Duo sat back up suddenly. 

"Shit, I'm so sorry Wufei..." He stumbled as he got out of the bed. "I-I didn't mean to..." He stumbled as he tried to flee the room, as if he could flee the problem that way.

Wufei restrained him with a hand on his wrist. "Duo..." He breathed huskily. He pulled his friend back down onto the bed with him.

Duo refused to face him.

"Duo... Don't feel bad... I... I..." Wufei decided the best way to tell his friend his feelings would be to show him. He pushed Duo back down on the bed and kissed him firmly. 

Duo lay there for a few moments in shock, then turned towards Wufei, his unseeing eyes piercing through Wufei. "Wha... How...?"

Wufei shook his head. "I don't know... I just do... Or am..."

Duo gulped visibly. 

Wufei sat back up, unsure of what to do. He sat there for almost a minute until chilled slender hands pulled him back down. He looked at his friend in a mix of fear and wonder.

Duo stroked Wufei's cheekbone, trying to reassure himself that all this was real.

Wufei reached for Duo's braid, "Do you mind?"

Duo shook his head. 

Wufei hesitantly snapped off the band that was holding it together and ran his fingers through the messy locks to detangle it. 

Duo smiled and purred softly.

Wufei brushed back a few locks which had fallen across Duo's face, obscuring it.

Duo leaned into the touch, then flipped Wufei onto his back, looming over him. He bent down and kissed his friend fiercely.

Wufei responded by snaking a hand into Duo's hair and pulling him down towards him.

* * * * * 

Wufei woke up early in the morning, as was usual for him. As he stretched, he felt his hand come in contact with naked human flesh, something unusual for him. He opened his eyes, then smiled as he saw with whom he had been sharing his bed. 

He pushed himself up onto his side and rested his head on his arm. He smiled as he thought of his choice of late night activities the night before. 

As he sat there, smiling at his friend-turned-lover, the sun rose, its beams slowly warming the room with a healthy glow. As the beams touched Duo, he gasped as the formerly translucent skin had been transformed into what looked like radiantly glowing stars. He pushed back the strands of hair which obscured his view of Duo's face, momentarily stunned by what he saw. 

He was no longer in bed with another pilot, but an angel, a fallen angel. He smiled at his own thoughts as the moment passed. 

As if conscious of Wufei's scrutiny, Duo sighed, then woke up. 

Wufei allowed Duo a few moments to take stock of where he was and why before speaking, "Good morning, little tre'vaile."

Duo frowned slightly. "Tre'vaile?"

"It means fallen angel..." Wufei said as a way of explanation.

Duo wrinkled his nose at Wufei.

Wufei couldn't help but feel the wave of love and protectiveness that washed over him, in regards to his friend. By all that sacred, I will see that this poor soul is never hurt again. This I swear to the gods. I will protect your fallen angel.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


End file.
